Parents of students in the Southwest Licking Schools district say they’re frustrated with the state’s decision to keep schools from using security barricades intended to stop a gunman.

After parents raised $30,000 to buy intruder-defense systems for the Southwest Licking school district, they were told the devices violate Ohio’s Building Code. The district appealed, but the Board of Building Appeals within the Ohio Department of Commerce this week voted down the use of the barricades.

The active-shooter training received by the school district last year encouraged using barricades to stop a gunman.

State Sen. Jay Hottinger had called a meeting with state officials after speaking with parents. He says the barricade question is something that must be resolved at the state level.

An Ohio Senate committee is scheduled to consider changes to gun bills relaxing some requirements for a concealed carry permit and letting hunters use silencers on their guns under certain conditions.

Senate President Keith Faber said several measures related to weapons will be added to a bill that he hopes to have up for a full Senate vote Thursday afternoon.

Faber said the GOP-controlled Senate is unlikely to vote on a measure that includes a self-defense proposal.

The hunting bill, which passed the House earlier this year, would let licensed hunters use the noise suppressors while hunting certain birds and other wild game, including squirrels, rabbits and white-tailed deer.

Another pending bill reduces from 12 hours to eight the training time to get a concealed weapons permit.

A pro concealed carry group has filed suit against Ohio State University, saying the schoolâ€™s gun ban is too broad.

The group Students for Concealed Carry Foundation filed the suit in Franklin County court yesterday. They say the OSU policy violates state law because it bans students from keeping guns locked in their cars, which is permitted at universities under state law.

The group is also challenging an OSU policy banning students from carrying guns during off-campus school activities.

An Ohio Senate committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the bill to lower the amount of training time required for a concealed weapons permit. It would also have Ohio recognize concealed carry permits from other states.

Another bill that tinkers with the stateâ€™s concealed-carry weapons law is in a Senate committee now, and two groups that have always been very involved in the issue are once again clashing over the proposed changes.

The bill lowers the amount of required training for first-time concealed carry weapons permit applicants from 12 hours to eight. Jim Irvine with the Buckeye Firearms Association says thatâ€™s a good number to get people started.

â€œAnd then itâ€™s up to the instructor to say, hey, you need this much more or that much more before I sign you off,” Irvine says. “And a lot of instructors donâ€™t sign people off at the end of 12 hours â€“ and you shouldnâ€™t, if theyâ€™re not ready to carry a firearm yet.â€

But Mike Weinman with the Fraternal Order of Police says eight hours isnâ€™t enough.

â€œThey need range time. Sorry. You need to be able to get out there and be able to fire that firearm.â€

The bill also reintroduces the idea that Ohio will recognize the concealed-carry permits issued in other states, as the state does with driversâ€™ licenses.

But opponents say other states often donâ€™t have the same standards that Ohio does.

Ohio’s attorney general reports that more than 16,000 new concealed-carry licenses were issued in the first quarter of 2014.

The numbers released Tuesday showed 16,205 new licenses issued, and 15,832 licenses renewed in the first three months of the year, for a total of more than 32,000. Another 262 applications were denied, and 350 were suspended.

That compares with more than 31,400 new permits issued in the first quarter of 2013, along with more than 6,300 renewals.

More than 145,000 concealed carry licenses were issued in Ohio in 2013 for the largest number issued since licensing began in the state in 2004. The state issued 97,000 new licenses and more than 48,000 renewals last year.

Each county sheriff reports concealed handgun license statistics quarterly to the state.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/01/28/proposal-would-let-ohio-hunters-use-silencers/feed/2deer hunting,guns,hunting,ohio,shotguns,silencersIt's legal for Ohioans to own suppressors, commonly known as silencers, for their firearms. But it's illegal to use one while hunting in Ohio. Now there's a bill to change that.It's legal for Ohioans to own suppressors, commonly known as silencers, for their firearms. But it's illegal to use one while hunting in Ohio. Now there's a bill to change that.WOSU Newsno3:48Police Shoot, Kill Knife-Yielding Manhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/11/18/police-shoot-kill-knife-yielding-man/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/11/18/police-shoot-kill-knife-yielding-man/#commentsMon, 18 Nov 2013 13:00:33 +0000Steve Brownhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=61847

31-year-old Jason White was pronounced dead yesterday after Columbus police say he was shot while threatening officers at an apartment complex near the intersection of Roberts and Hilliard-Rome Roads.